Chapter 931 Conventional Acquisition (4k)

Being in Texas Instruments, I am already dizzy.

It is not that Fang Zhuo has never poached people, but his company has been poaching people all year round.

Especially for ice cores, he poached from south to north, from universities to enterprises, from China to foreign countries, but each time he did it on a "personal" or "position" basis, and never thought that he could be so rich in selecting one after another.

Texas Instruments has a total of 30,000 employees worldwide, and the planned layoffs this time exceed 3,000.

Of course, this is the latest statement Fang Zhuo got from the head Richard. The news heard by the outside world is still about 600 people.

These 3,000 people are almost half and half, either directly fired, or voluntarily retired or resigned.

The attitude given by Texas Instruments is that they provide convenience, you have a two-way choice, and everyone is happy to part ways.

Some of the resumes on the list obtained by Yi Ke are really excellent. After the explanation, Fang Zhuo even asked Texas Instruments' personnel in surprise why such technical talents should be laid off.

The answer is very simple.

"The department has a hard layoff target."

"Everyone is excellent, we know this, but hard targets are targets."

"Dr. Mason's research has great potential, but he and his team need continuous R&D investment. It cannot be commercialized in the short term and cannot make a profit. It does not meet our current strategic goals."

Layoff target + short-term unprofitable = move to Yike.

Fang Zhuo felt the coldness of the tide of the times again at close range, regardless of this doctor or that doctor...When TI's CEO Richie expressed his concerns to the media - "The company is re-planning its spending plan for a global recession. We cannot expect the economy to improve in the near future. The actions we are taking to cut spending and inventory will allow TI to reap good financial results in this long period of economic weakness", everything can only be subject to the survival of the business organization.

It was after these words that TI's stock rose 4% against the trend.

Because, according to estimates, TI's layoff plan can save $200 million in costs each year, and when this is combined with the news that TI has a larger layoff plan that has begun to circulate in the market, the savings can be even greater!

On October 5, Bingxin's evaluation team arrived at TI headquarters and began their selection.

Bingxin's work will be relatively difficult, because it means that the incoming engineers will have to go far away to China, which will inevitably greatly affect their choices.

Three days later, after half a month of hard work at TI, Yike initially screened 146 employees, and Bingxin listed a list of up to 348 engineers, but the subsequent selection rights were handed over to the other side.

The advantage that Yike and Bingxin can provide is that they can guarantee that their salary and benefits will not decline, but TI employees do have more choices and may not really want to join mobile phone manufacturers or go far away to China or even the German factory that is still not in the plan.

On October 10, Fang Zhuo left Dallas and flew to Austin, the "low-profile Silicon Valley". TI still left a mini team of Yike and Bingxin here to deal with the problems and needs of the selected employees face to face.

"Finally I don't have to face the piles of resumes. When the economic crisis comes, everyone has a hard time."

Even when sitting in the plane, Fang Zhuo seemed to see what he had seen and heard in the past few days.

Nothing is more like a puppet than this moment, because it involves the evaluation of technology, which is an area where he can hardly play his strengths - he can't just rely on guessing.

In addition to learning more about the internal operations of Texas Instruments, Fang Zhuo's main job in the past few days is to make promises and pay attention to changes in the outside world. The 700 billion bill that was rejected on the 29th was finally passed by Congress on the 3rd of this month, but the economic crisis has begun and cannot be easily reversed.

The two most important things in the United States now are the widespread impact of the economic crisis and the victory of O'Neal and McCain next month.

As time enters October, different polls show that more voters are beginning to pay more attention to O'Neal's program of "change", and McCain's lead has been reversed to a greater extent.

On the evening of the 10th, Fang Zhuo's team settled in the hotel and revised the guiding ideology of this action.

A lot of time was spent here at TI. Next, we will try to improve efficiency. If the company or talent on the other side hesitates, we will quickly go to the next one, first go through the valuable companies on the list and then re-examine the valuable places.

On the 11th, Fang Zhuo and others met the second target of the action, P.G&A, a small design company dedicated to the research of ARM server chips, which was selected for the industry's newcomer selection this year.

Because the Hummingbird team previously acquired by Yike had worked in Austin, the companies here have more or less some social connections and contacts.

P.G&A is a bit like a company under TI's internal evaluation standards. Their research on ARM architecture is difficult to commercialize in a short period of time. The investment that was originally agreed upon fell through after 9.15, and now it is quite precarious.

Fang Zhuo hopes to get this small company at a good price, just like the Hummingbird team to contribute nutrition to Yike's independent chips.

His psychological price is 20 million US dollars.

Time is limited, but the greetings after meeting are still needed.

Porter is the co-founder of the company. He is the "P" in the company's name. He graduated from Stanford University and has a brilliant resume in the industry.

This time, he took over the task of negotiating with the rich people in the East, because Porter was half a Chinese expert.

Porter carefully elaborated on P.G&A's innovative work on server chips using ARMv7. He boasted that as long as the current research direction is followed and the ARM architecture continues to be upgraded, there will be a very good commercial market. .

Fang Zhuo listened patiently and politely to the introduction. He didn't even need his deputy technical director Elder to ask questions. He first talked about two key points.

"Porter, it is difficult for the 32-bit ARMv7 instruction set to shake the X86 architecture. It is difficult for your research on server chips to make breakthroughs beyond the architecture itself."

"Also, even if ARM releases the v8 architecture in a few years, using a 64-bit instruction set and improving performance, the business ecosystem will be weak and there will be a lack of compatible hardware and software. This is not a company's business, but a need The industry’s efforts will take at least 5 or even 8 years.”

"I appreciate your work on the ARM architecture, but this is really not something that can be done in a short time, especially now that the economy is in a recession."

Elder looked at his boss in surprise, but he didn't expect that what he said was very correct. The ARMV7 architecture has two manifestations in the field of mobile phone chips and servers. The latter still requires a better architecture and more time.

Fang Zhuo picked up the coffee cup, noticed Elder's gaze, took a sip of coffee and winked at him.

As long as you live and learn, you can't go deep into it, so why can't you just use one thing?

Regardless of whether a technology has real prospects, persistent R&D investment and industry business ecology are similar. Since P.G&A is an independent company, it must consider such issues.

However, Porter did not panic. He calmly talked about the innovative work in the company's research, which is a solid foundation for further progress in the future.

As the topic deepens...

Fang Zhuo gave Elder a look, and he needed to let professionals go.

Yike and P.G&A took turns taking turns. There was also the technical director of the Hummingbird team in this line, who happened to be good at the ARM architecture, so there were some differences in opinions between them.

Sparks are flying and the coffee is fragrant.

When Fang Zhuo started drinking his second cup of coffee, it was finally time to make a bid.

"20 million U.S. dollars." He offered the full purchase price.

Porter frowned: "Our financing valuation for this round is US$80 million. Mr. Fang, if you are not sincere about the price, there is really no need to waste your time."

"Didn't you fail to negotiate this round of financing?" Fang Zhuo shook his head slightly, "Although I very much hope that you will join Yike to continue the research of mobile phone chips, I also respect your wishes. If you are willing to continue to delve into the field of server chips , that’s okay, Yike can invest in this aspect.”

"The economy is terrible right now, and I think P.G&A should value people who are willing to shell out cash and commit to research and development."

"Elder told me that he likes your work very much, and for this love, I am willing to pay an additional $3 million."

Fang Zhuo put down his coffee cup and offered a price higher than his initial price: "23 million US dollars."

Potter stared at the serious expression of the oriental man opposite.

Everything is correct, no matter the v7 architecture, the current situation, or cash or R&D, there is no problem.

It's this price... I feel like it's a loss just to accept it.

Besides, how can such an acquisition be negotiated once and for all?

Porter shook his head: "This price is too low and we can't accept it. Mr. Fang, I like Yike's mobile phone products very much. If it is really acquired, we are willing to study ARM mobile phone chips."

He took out the chips of intention and continued: "But at this price, I really can't see the sincerity."

Fang Zhuo had some regrets: "Then you should think about it again. The current economic situation is like this. 23 million is really good. I will fly to Houston tomorrow morning. I hope we can reach an agreement today."

Flying to Houston tomorrow?

Porter was skeptical of this claim.

As a half-Chinese expert, he thought of an idiom from the Eastern countries - play hard to get.

Also in Austin, as far as he knew, Yike had ideas on chips, otherwise he wouldn't have acquired Hummingbird.

Since Yike's intentions are so big, he must pay the price he deserves.

He shook his head gracefully and confidently: "Mr. Fang, let's discuss it separately and talk in the afternoon."

Fang Zhuo wanted to emphasize that this was his final price, but he still endured it until the afternoon out of politeness.

23 million!

That’s it!

No more!

At the second meeting in the afternoon, Fang Zhuo reiterated the price, reiterated the itinerary, reiterated that cooperation would benefit both parties, and division would lead to bankruptcy.

However, Porter, who is leading the P.G&A negotiations this time, has already identified "play hard to get" and resolutely refuses to accept such a price.

By evening, the two sides could not reach an agreement.

Fang Zhuo shook hands with Porter regretfully. P.G&A seemed really good, but...if it doesn't sell, it won't be sold. The next one will be better.

In the evening, Porter discussed the conditions of this negotiation with the company's other two founders, Grace and Autumn, emphasizing that Yike would never let go of the opportunity to strengthen its chip design capabilities.

"Don't worry, even if they don't call me tonight, they will talk again tomorrow."

"The Chinese are very particular about negotiation strategies. They will find a level that is acceptable to both parties to complete a hard-to-get deal. Although we cannot get 80 million, we can at least double the current 23 million."

"Fang Zhuo is a rich man in the world, and Yike's Mars is selling well. We can definitely negotiate the price."

Porter vowed that he had figured out the mind of the head of Yike.

However, this night, he really didn't receive a call from Yi Kexin.

The next morning, Porter, who was slightly uneasy, waited for an hour and decided to have a cup of coffee at the hotel where Yi Ke was staying. Aren't things like steps always given to you? Everyone is given the same thing!

However, he sat in the hotel lobby and waited, but never saw anyone from Yike showing up.

Porter finally dialed the number of the head of Yike.

"Oh, I'm already in Houston." Fang Zhuo was already sitting in the conference room of the third company and said briefly, "I flew here last night. After all, I have nothing to do in Austin for the time being, and I have made an appointment here."

Porter was dumbfounded: "Fang, Mr. Fang, that, that... this acquisition..."

"Didn't you already refuse?" Fang Zhuo asked.

Porter thought about the word "play hard to get" and once suspected whether the other party was acting, but he did not dare to bet on this possibility. He said sincerely: "We can talk about it again. How could the acquisition be decided so quickly?"

"It's still 23 million, the price remains unchanged." Fang Zhuo said simply.

Potter faltered again.

"Then you think about it again." Fang Zhuo ended the call.

Porter put down his cell phone and immediately rushed to the front desk of the hotel to ask about the movements of Yike and his party.

Sure enough, the other party had really left the hotel.

Porter walked out of the hotel in silence, never expecting that everything was true.

how so?

He was very puzzled.

However, there is a big gap between 23 million and last month's 80 million and the psychological price, so I really can't agree.

Porter hurriedly shared the situation with the two founders.

An hour later, he called Mr. Fang again and gave his final price: US$40 million!

Fang Zhuo refused.

It was during the intermission of the acquisition negotiations in Houston. Fang Zhuo pondered for a while and told his secretary Liu Zonghong: "If you want to badmouth ARM's server chip field in the local media in Austin, write about the venture capital judgment under the current economic situation, just take P.G&A gave an example of their failure in the last round of financing and their business prospects.”

Liu Zonghong suppressed his shock and followed the order, thinking that his boss had gotten better...

Fang Zhuo frowned and suddenly regretted, what was he doing? Wasn't this trying to rob someone by force?

"Boss, how about P.G&A? They are really accomplished in the field of server chips." Elder, the deputy chief engineer of technology, is also obsessed with P.G&A.

Fang Zhuo frowned. Look, this is not just a personal wish, he is just tied up by the company.

He took a sip of coffee and replied: "Wait a minute, don't rush, give them some time, let's talk about the company in Houston first. This time, we have to get the IC design on track no matter what."

Three days later, Fangzhuo, who had left Houston for his next destination, received a call from Porter.

"Mr. Fang, we are willing to accept US$23 million." Porter's voice was a little tired.

Fang Zhuo hesitated instead: "Porter, it's not that I want to go back on my word. It's just that I noticed the analysis of experts in the media. The prospect of ARM-based server chips seems... it seems... Porter, you know."

Porter was silent for nearly thirty seconds: "$20 million."

This is Fang Zhuo's first quotation.

"Let's do this. I'll discuss it with Elder and the others. After all, they know best. I'm not good at making judgments in the technical field, Potter, you know." Fang Zhuo replied.

Porter hung up the phone and waited anxiously for a reply. He didn't know if he knew.

Because of the acquisition failure and media reports, he and his two friends had quarreled several times in the past three days. Yes, the economic situation is different!

That night, Porter received a call from the head of Yike.

20 million, just 20 million, Yike is willing to gamble once!

In this way, Yike completed a conventional acquisition and gave the precarious P.G&A a warm home.